{"id":5653,"date":"2024-10-15T15:49:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T15:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/?p=5653"},"modified":"2024-10-15T19:11:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T19:11:02","slug":"couple-splash-out-150000-transforming-one-of-grand-designs-biggest-disasters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/2024\/10\/15\/couple-splash-out-150000-transforming-one-of-grand-designs-biggest-disasters\/","title":{"rendered":"Couple splash out \u00a3150,000 transforming one of Grand Designs biggest \u2018disasters\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Kevin<\/div>
An infamous Grand Designs project has now received a new lease on life (Picture: Channel 4\/ EastNews Press Agency)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the years Grand Designs<\/a> has seen countless dream projects turn into nightmares<\/a>, with homeowners plunged into debt <\/a>and left with unfinished homes at times.<\/p>\n

Although many viewers will remember the infamous \u2018saddest ever home<\/a>\u2019, another property was eventually taken over by squatters after being found washed up on an Essex<\/a> beach.<\/p>\n

In 2007 Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Laine took on a truly unique build<\/a> \u2013 spending \u00a350,000 to build an environmentally-friendly houseboat from a rusting Thames barge.<\/p>\n

The couple had plans to create a two-storey houseboat with three bedrooms using only eco-friendly and second-hand materials after failing to find a home more spacious and affordable than their small East London<\/a> flat for their family, which also included their two children.<\/p>\n

However, during the episode, viewers saw them faced with countless issues and clashing with builders, with one construction worker declaring their passion project looked like \u2018s***\u2019.<\/p>\n

Even host Kevin McCloud described it as a \u2018floating scrapheap challenge\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Chris<\/div>
The Medway Eco-Barge was a project initially conceived by Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Laine (Picture: Channel 4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
However it faced many problems and was eventually left abandoned (Picture: Channel 4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They eventually reached their limit, being forced to jump ship after blowing their budget and spending an extra \u00a330,000.<\/p>\n

A few years later, in 2011, The Medway Eco-Barge was found washed up and vandalised on an Essex beach, where it was being used by squatters.<\/p>\n

Despite the home\u2019s history, Rob and Sarah Burch decided to attempt to give it another lease on life.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve now spent \u00a3150,000 on transforming one of Grand Designs\u2019 most notorious builds into their dream holiday home.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/div>
After it washed up on an Essex beach, couple Sarah and Rob Burch decided to renovate the vessel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
They spent \u00a3150,000 to create their dream holiday home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The couple, who own a steel frame firm, jumped at the chance to work on the vessel at their boatyard in the riverside town of Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex.<\/p>\n

Rob, 54, has explained they paid around \u00a370,000 to buy the barge from a boatyard in Southend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Structurally, it was in a reasonable position externally, but somebody had started work on it on the inside,\u2019 he told Mail Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018They were doing a conversion, and everything they had done looked okay on the outside, but it was terrible when we started to look at it. So, it ended up being a complete refit.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/div>
The renovated barge now looks luxurious<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
It features a cosy living room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
The fully equipped kitchen is another draw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
There\u2019s plenty of entertaining room too<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"A<\/div>
A small library is also a unique feature<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018The idea initially was to recycle the materials back onto the boat, but because we delved so far into it, it literally became about taking it out and replacing it.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, due to the fact the boat was being kept on the water, they faced several challenges including tides and storms.<\/p>\n

\u2018We were going to put a steel frame on top because that\u2019s what our line of work. And the downstairs was going to be just tidied up because it looked to be okay. But as soon as we started looking at it, there was water under the boards and stuff like that, so we knew we had to do a lot more work on it,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\n
\"An<\/div>
When the weather is nice, a rooftop BBQ area can also be utilised<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The couple managed to recycle many of the materials already on board before \u2018cleaning it up a bit and making sure things were robust\u2019.<\/p>\n

After two years of work, the family finished the ambitious project, which now features a stunning bath, fully equipped kitchen, cosy living room, a small library and even an outdoor BBQ area.<\/p>\n

Sarah said the houseboat was a \u2018nice little pad to go and spend time in when we\u2019re not at home\u2019.<\/p>\n

The also said they had no plans on selling the boat, with Sarah saying they were too \u2018attached\u2019 to it.<\/p>\n

Grand Designs is streaming on Channel 4.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An infamous Grand Designs project has now received a new lease on life (Picture: Channel 4\/ EastNews Press Agency) Over the years Grand Designs has seen countless dream projects turn into nightmares, with homeowners plunged into debt and left with unfinished homes at times. Although many viewers will remember the infamous \u2018saddest ever home\u2019, another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5653"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5654,"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5653\/revisions\/5654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sudokuti.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}